I bought this game last year and put it away after a few hours because of, what IMHO are poor controls. Why they decided to skip the standard dual-analog scheme that every other console FPS uses is beyond.
I decided to try it out again this past weekend and my opinion still stands. How crappy is it that you cant move AND look around at the same time? I can’t move AND look at the edge of the platform I am moving on. That is just VERY poor design as far as I’m concerned. It doesn’t feel the least bit natural and makes the game feel very stiff.
This is a show stopper for me and I can’t enjoy the game for this reason.
I’m not debating that it may be a great game, but the controls suck so bad I will never find out.
Anyone else have any opinion on the controls? Am I the only person who felt this way?
You’re not the only one, but once you get past the initial learning curve, it works quite well. You’ll learn that if you can’t lock onto something, there’s little need to look up at it. This game’s isn’t your standard first person shooter, it’s a whole different ball-game.
I don’t know how much time you’ve invested, but I recommend you sit down for a few hours and just play around. If all you concentrate on are the controls, you won’t have a good time. You just gota try and accept them as they are, You’ll get used to them over time.
Personally, I’ve never liked the dual-analog system for console shooters. After playing FPSes on PC using a mouse and keyboard, making the change to a joypad is difficult for me.
That said, I love the controls in Metroid Prime. I think (hope) that once you get used to them you’ll find them more versatile than you do now. Like Duperdude said, MP isn’t a typical FPS, and the trick is not to treat it as such.
I personally like the controls of Metroid Prime better than the controls of most FPSs. It’s probably because the first FPSs I ever played were Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, which also only use one control stick (Halo annoyed the crap out of me when I first played it, and I still think my skills in that game are limited because the dual analog controls are still somewhat foriegn to me).
In any case, I agree with Duderdude that MP isn’t a FPS. In many ways, MP is like Zelda: Orcarina of Time with a laser gun. The emphasis isn’t so much on combat, it’s on exploration and collecting items. So it’s OK if the combat is simplistic.
I haven’t played in a while (bought a GC for it, played it for a while, got bored and traded it for an Xbox) but I remember liking the controls. They seemed very intuitive to me.
M:P isn’t an FPS, as others have said. It’s an adventure game from the first person perspective.
I don’t have a problem with the controls for that game, but I think the stock controller is a little too small for my hands so playing any GameCube game is kind of uncomfortable for me.
Controls for MP do get awkward in some of the harder boss fights. To beat the last three, you need to be very good at jumping and charging up missile combos at the same time, while you switch visors and guns on the fly. I had to learn to hold the controller a whole different way to beat the game.
When you’re not at a stress point, though, I’ll re-iterate what others have said: you’ll get used to the thing in an hour or two. And do stick with it; if for no other reason than that the Phendrana Drifts and the Chozo Ruins are two of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in or out of a video game.
When Zelda went 3D, I was anxious about the feel of the game. How would they keep the Zelda “feel” without the Zelda controls? They managed perfectly. The transition is so smooth, I remember giggling about how much it reminded me of old-school Zelda games. I didn’t think it could be done, but they did it.
Then Metroid Prime was announced to have a first-person perspective. How would they do it? What about the morph ball? My skepticism was back in full swing. My only association with FPS controls is your standard Halo-type, dual analog (or two-controller dual analog in the N64 days which, IMO, remains the best control scheme ever ever ever). I like dual analog control, but it just wouldn’t have the Metroid feel. Could they even retain the feel, being a 3D game?
IMO, they pulled it off in spades. It took about an hour and a half to three hours of play to get it completely down, but it was perfect. I would have never guessed that would be the way to control Samus in 3D, and at first it felt horribly limiting, but geez did it win me over.
It must just be me then. I can’t argue with you guys because none of the reviews I have read for the game mention the control issues that I have had. I just can’t get used to it for some reason. I feel SO limited when I can’t look around when moving. I always feel like I’m going to step off a cliff or step on a ghoulie or something. The control scheme also makes my stomach upset like Doom did. I don’t know why alot of FPS type games make my stomach hurt. All the way back to Wolfenstein 3-D and the controls on MP really bring back that feeling.
It seems like it is a great game but the controls! ARGH!
And there have been a few other remarks to the effect that the controls have a learning curve. But once you get used to it, nearly everbody seems to agree, the controller feels pretty natural.
Games with truly bad controls (for Gamecube, anyway) include:
Resident Evil 0
Super Mario Sunshine
No, man, there’s definitely control issues. It’s very non-standard, no question. It’s just that when you do adapt to it, the game really shines, and you will adapt to it because it is more natural than you might think at first.
Sign me up for hating dual analog controls with a passion, i just can’t control a game this way…a single analog with well placed strafe buttons is the best setup i’ve come across for first person games (goldeneye 007, perfect dark). That said, i did find MP awkward at first because i felt limited on the strafing. That is until i realized (as people have previously said) that i was approaching the game as a first person shooter…which it certainly is not, the control is perfect for an adventure game in first person. So my advice also is to give the game another go from a different perspective.
